Monachopsis
by SketchedFlowers
Summary: Serena wasn't completely surprised to be told she wasn't exactly normal, but even then, she doesn't feel like she belongs at Camp Half-Blood, either. She was claimed barely a week after she finally made it to camp; everyone says she's a "demigod," and the evidence points to that conclusion, too. So why does that word feel so...wrong? (Rated T just in case)


An unfamiliar hill was not what Serena had expected to see in her dreams that night, but there she was anyway. From where she was standing, Serena could see strawberry fields not too far from the hill she found herself on, but at the same time, she could also see what looked like a camp overlapping the area. She couldn't remember ever being there before, yet it felt still felt strangely familiar.

" _Proteggerlo._ "

Serena jumped at the unfamiliar voice, her head swiveling around to find the source. She saw a girl standing off to her left on the hill; she had brown eyes and dark hair that she wore in a braid, and she had what looked like a bow and quiver slung over her shoulder. Serena guessed that she was around her own age, but something about her made her seem...older, somehow.

 _"Proteggerlo, ed egli vi proteggerà."_

At first, Serena hadn't realized that the girl was speaking. When she did, it took her a moment to understand; her parents had been trying to teach her Italian since she was little, but even then, her first language was English and she understood it better because of it.

Even if it did take her a moment, she did manage to process the words being spoken to her: _Protect him, and he will protect you_.

"What?"

The girl didn't speak. The strawberry fields were starting to fade from Serena's view as the corners of her vision blurred.

"Protect who?"

Again, no response. Serena opened her mouth to speak again, but found that no sound came out. The ground started to shake––or was that just her? Serena didn't know anymore, she only had one thought on her mind as the world continued to quake around her:

Who was that girl?

* * *

"Serena, you've gotta get up! It's time to go out!"

Someone was shaking her shoulders––she figured that was what the shaking in her dream had stemmed from. Serena pried her sleep-deprived eyes open to see exasperated green ones glowering down at her, though they did not hold any real malice. Serena, propping herself up on her elbows, frowned up at the person holding her. It seemed that the two of them were both ignoring the fact that their faces were close enough now that their noses were nearly touching. _Lovely._

Bleary sea-green eyes blinked themselves awake at the spring green ones in front of them; recognition clicked in Serena's mind, a lopsided smile coming with it. "Just can't keep your hands off me, eh Sunshine?"

She was rewarded with a snort and a hand pushing her face away from the other's. "As if, Laguna. If you actually get your head out of dreamland, maybe you'll find better ways to get a girl's attention."

Serena laughed back as the other withdrew from the place she had taken up before, and she sat up as well. "Well, I think I'm still dreaming, Solaire, 'cause you sure are an angel. Wait––I said that one wrong, I take it back––stop laughing, Eclipse, you're gonna make me laugh too, haha–!"

Soon enough, the two of them dissolved into laughter as they both sat up. Moments later, a realization seemed to dawn on Eclipse's face and she shot up to her feet, holding a hand out to Serena, which the girl in question took and allowed for herself to be helped up as well. In response to the inquisitive glance she received, Eclipse said, "Come on, it's almost time for practice. Don't you want to be able to land that handspring for the show next week?"

"Oh yeah!" Serena's sea-green eyes widened at the reminder of _oh yeah, practice is a thing I need to do_. "Thanks for waking me up, Eclipse. Would'a slept right through it without the lovely maiden that oh-so-lovingly woke me up." She gave an exaggerated wink and an extended hand; she was rewarded with a laugh and a mock bow.

"Well, this maiden thinks that _someone_ has to be the responsible one around here. Besides, without you, who would I warm up with?"

A laugh. "Well, I am glad that I am needed, oh fair maiden." Serena said, dropping her hand back to her side with a snort as they started to make their way into the main room of the gymnastics center and towards the big floor mat. "Who else is coming today? I know Naimah's busy with something or another, but––"

"Hey! Serena! Eclipse!"

She was cut off by an energetic yell from across the big room; when she looked up, Serena saw Chrys, a friend from school, waving at them. She gave him a wave in return, accompanied with a small "Hiya!" of her own.

Eclipse had introduced Serena to Chrys when she had first came to their school the previous Februrary, Ye'er School of the Arts, as a new seventh grader despite the year being half over already. Serena had grown up in the area, sure, but she had gone to a private school rather than the supposedly prestigious arts school. Currently, Eclipse and Serena were both attending as eighth graders majoring in the gymnastics department.

Chrys skipped over to them with the weird limp of his that Serena never really questioned after the initial "it's just a medical condition, don't worry about it too much." that she received the first time she noticed it. Chrys had never told Serena what he was at the school for, and she didn't ask for politeness' sake, though she did know that he was an eighth grader as well. Serena knew he wasn't in the gymnastics department with her and Eclipse, since she never saw him in the gymnastics center aside from visiting them, and with his strange limp, she figured he must not be in any of the other physical performance departments, either.

"Earth to Serena?"

Chrys's soft-spoken voice broke through Serena's thoughts, making her start. When had he come over to them? "O-oh, sorry. Did you ask me something?"

He smiled gently and gave a quiet laugh––something was up. _Chrys is normally much more energetic,_ Serena thought. She had seen that energetic side of him the moment she noticed him just a minute ago; what happened? "Nah, you just looked like you were spacing out. Is everything okay?"

"Ah," Serena wasn't sure she really wanted to share her thoughts; she didn't want to be rude to Chrys, but she also wanted to know.

But then again, she had wanted to know for this long, and it really hadn't been that long at all––it wouldn't kill her if she waited a little longer for when he wanted to say it. "I'm fine, just thinking, I guess."

Serena thought she saw Chrys glance at Eclipse for a moment, but then the girl in question spoke up. "We were just talking about the summer camp we go to. I miss the strawberries from the fields there."

"You mean the camp you still won't tell me anything about?" Serena raised a brow. This was another curiosity she had; Eclipse and Chrys both went to this camp together every year, but refused to give any sort of location or purpose of the camp whenever Serena asked. She hadn't even known there were strawberry fields.

She was brought back to reality by Eclipse's short laugh. "That's the one. Chrys thinks you should come with us next time, but I don't know if...if it's a good idea yet. We don't know for sure if you'll really qualify for it."

Serena snorted. "You just don't want all this," she gestured to herself, "to distract you from whatever it is you do at this camp, huh?" She finished with a wink; Eclipse rolled her eyes exasperatedly, but Serena could see the hint of a smile.

"Yeah, 'cause that's what I meant." Eclipse scoffed jokingly, but then her face turned somber, which confused Serena. She almost missed Eclipse's next statement because of how quiet she had become. "I don't want you to _need_ to go."

That threw Serena for a loop, but looking at the maple-haired girl's eyes, she couldn't bring herself to continue the topic. "...Say, I think it's time we get to practicing, right Eclipse?"

Eclipse looked Serena in the eye for a long moment–– _were Eclipse's eyes always that green?_ ––before nodding slowly, her face brightening up after a short while. "...yeah. Yeah. Let's go; see you later Chrys."

Chrys looked worried for a moment, though that wasn't saying much, he always seemed to be worried about something. Serena thought she could see him glance at Eclipse again, though his gaze seemed focused on her when he nodded. "Come find me when you're done; I'll try to find you if I need to–" he looked sharply at Eclipse, like he was trying to say something else to her, "–but, hopefully I won't."

With that, Chrys hobbled off, and Serena went with Eclipse to the big floor mat.

 _This is gonna be a long practice,_ Serena thought as Eclipse told her to run her routine.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, finally! This took way to long for me to get around to, and I am both extremely thankful and apologetic to those of you that have been so patient with me this whole time. To those of you who found this story independently of my original one––welcome! Thanks for stopping by! You don't need to have read the previous work (unfinished, by the way) to understand what's going on here, but there are some things that I reference in here that are from there! :)**

 **I can't promise a steady schedule with this, but I do promise that I'll be trying my best on this!**


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